Fade Into You
by AlwaysEachOther
Summary: Looking after the city every night isn't an easy job. Fortunately, they have each other to make sure that they're looked after as well. Oliver and Felicity fluff.
_Hi there! This is my first Arrow story, I only started watching the show a month or two ago and instantly became obsessed with it, particularly with Oliver and Felicity. Watching the show gave me many ideas for possible stories, and I was eager to start straight away. This idea came to me while listening to the song Fade Into You from Nashville, as it made me think of Oliver and Felicity. The first half of this story is set in the first half of season 2, and the second part is early season 4. I hope you enjoy it, reviews would definitely be appreciated! I obviously don't own anything to do with Arrow, or the song from Nashville._

 _/_

 _If you were the ocean and I was the sun_

 _If the day made me heavy and gravity won_

 _If I was the red and you were the blue_

 _I could just fade into you_

Felicity tapped away at her keyboards, unaffected to the sounds of Oliver working on the salmon ladder behind her. As long as she kept her back to him and didn't actually watch the display of athleticism that caused her pulse to quicken, she could focus on her work. Out of sight, out of mind. Or close enough.

She heard Oliver grunt behind her, and she knew he must have reached the top. A considerable thud soon followed, and she knew he must have let himself drop back to the ground below.

She felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise, instantly knowing that he was close to her. Sure enough, he came to stand beside her chair, only halfway through tugging a shirt over his sweat covered torso, which was right in line with her face until he had completed his task.

She took a deep breath, trying not to let her face flood with colour. She and Oliver had been friends for a considerable amount of time now, and she was better at not letting things like his impressive abs affect her. Better, but not completely immune to them. She was human, after all. She just didn't want to make things awkward and affect their relationship, which was classed as an odd mix of friends, partners, and employee/boss.

"How's it going?" He asked, oblivious to the feelings warring inside her.

"Good." She nodded. "I set up the tracer after facial recognition picked him up. I don't think we'll have to wait too long."

"That's good. Hopefully when Digg gets here we'll have something."

Felicity nodded again, looking up at him with a slight frown. From her position sitting down she had an unusual angle at which to see his face. From her chair she could see the dark circles that had taken up residence under his eyes as of late, something she had noticed over the last few days.

She reached a hand over to pat his arm soothingly. She was sure she had picked up the affectionate habits that he so often displayed towards her.

"We will." She reassured him.

Diggle arrived soon after, and within half an hour Oliver was suiting up, the two men heading out.

Felicity settled herself behind her monitors, turning her comms on and waiting for Oliver and Digg to reach their destination. They had been tracking this guy who had been trafficking drugs and weapons through the Glades for the last week, and it was starting to wear on everyone's nerves, most of all Oliver's. He'd been going through a lot lately with discovering his mother's secret about who Thea's real father was, the whole mess of Sara and the League, and whatever mess was going on between Laurel, Sara and Oliver. His work at QC was complicated and stressful thanks to Isabel Rochev, (oh, how she despised that woman) and the criminals of Starling City were still running rampant, taking up a lot of The Arrow's time. _Of course he's going to be tired_ , she reminded herself.

She had always worried about him to an extent, but her worry had been growing over the last few weeks. She often told herself it's because they were friends and friends worry about each other, but she knew she couldn't keep lying to herself. She can see so much good in him; good that he doesn't see in himself, and she just wishes that she could take away the weight of the world that he constantly carries on his shoulders. She can't comfort him the way she wishes she could, because they're not together. She'd accepted her position as his friend, the plucky sidekick, and that would be enough. She just needed to remind herself of that fact a few times a week.

"Felicity, we're onsite." The voice of the man that had filled her mind suddenly rang through her comms. She shook herself back into action, clicking away at her keyboards to bring up security cameras and anything else that might help them out.

"Alright, they're on the north side of the building, loading some trucks." She told him. "Be careful." She added as an afterthought.

His slight chuckle came through the comms. "I'll be fine, Felicity."

She sat on the edge of her seat, eyes focused on her screens and ears paying attention to her headset, not even realising that she was holding her breath. She had to rely on the sounds of Oliver fighting to pick up on what was happening. It went on for several minutes as she listened to his ragged breathing, before he suddenly stopped.

"Dammit!" Oliver's voice echoed through her ears.

"What's wrong?" She asked in alarm.

"He got away." He growled, his voice impossibly deep.

"I've secured the weapons and drugs in the truck." Diggle's voice came through. "Now we just need to let Lance know."

"I'll do that while you two make your way back." Felicity nodded.

The last thing she heard before she turned her comms off was Oliver's loud sigh.

She made quick work of alerting Lance to the items he needed to pick up, then set about rerunning facial recognition to find where the guy had gone, so they could take another run at him the next night.

It was obvious the moment Oliver returned to the lair. He burst in, placed his bow and arrows back where they belonged (only because she had lectured him on taking care of his things a million times), then stalked off to pummel the crap out of some equipment without even bothering to change out of his leathers. Diggle arrived a few short minutes later, exchanging a look with Felicity before heading over to Oliver. They spoke briefly before Digg made his way back to her.

"I need to head out, and I think he's going to be here getting out some energy for a bit. Do you mind keeping on an eye on him for awhile before you go home?" He asked.

Felicity nodded. She had been hoping to go home and get some rest, but she knew she could never leave Oliver along while he was in such a state.

"Thanks." Diggle smiled, squeezing her shoulder in farewell before heading back up the stairs.

She sighed, looking over to Oliver, who had stripped his shirt off and was back on the salmon ladder, just as he had been earlier that evening. She waited patiently for him to come back down several minutes later, walking over to hand him a towel, which he accepted without a word.

"I've rest all the facial recognition programs so we can try again." She told him. "I know it sucks he got away, but at least we got the drugs and guns, right?"

"He still got away, Felicity!" He growled, his eyes full of frustration. "He got away because I wasn't paying attention! And now he can go out and keep doing things that will continue to hurt people!"

"Oliver, give yourself a break!" She cried. "Yes, he got away, but you tried your best. Sometimes it just happens. We'll get another shot at him, I promise."

He stared at her, eyes blazing for a few more moments. Then he suddenly seemed to sink in on himself. Felicity took that moment as her chance to walk in closer, reaching out to grip his forearm.

"You're exhausted Oliver, and you can't keep doing this if you don't get some rest. I know you think everything is your responsibility, but you have to take care of yourself too. You've been taking on way too much lately."

He opened him mouth, presumably to argue with her, but snapped it shut once he caught sight of the ferocity in her expression. Silently, he nodded in silent acceptance.

"Good. Now, I want you to get a good night's sleep." She urged.

His head suddenly dipped, avoiding her eyes.

"What?" She asked softly.

"I've been staying here since my mother told me if I couldn't handle being around her and acting normal, I shouldn't be at home."

"Oh." She whispered, her heart breaking for him. No wonder he'd been so tired lately. If he hadn't been going home to sleep, he certainly wasn't leaving his Arrow work behind at the end of the night. While the foundry was certainly comfortable for long periods of time, it wasn't exactly warm and conducive for getting some rest. The couch that they had off at the side was not exactly big enough for him to sleep on comfortably.

"Why don't you stay at mine tonight?" She offered before she even realised what she was saying.

His head snapped back up, his confused eyes meeting hers.

"Are you sure, Felicity?" He asked softly.

The vulnerability in his expression made her clench, and she knew she had made the right decision. She nodded vehemently.

"Come on, we'll get something to eat on the way. You've got to get changed first." She reminded him.

He nodded wordlessly, seeming a bit dazed as he made his way to the bathroom to put his regular clothes back on. By the time he returned, Felicity had put her jacket on and gathered up her things, and stood waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs.

He followed her out to her car and they travelled back to her house in silence, only talking when deciding what they should grab for their extremely late dinner. They ended up grabbing something each from Big Belly Burger's, which they ate as they sat on her couch, hardly saying a thing. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence though.

When they'd finished eating, Oliver cleaned up as Felicity went into her room to fix some things up for him.

"I can't take your bed, Felicity." He protested.

"Oliver, you are way too tall for my couch, but I am not. It's perfectly comfortable; I've slept on it many times. Just take the bed." She said exasperatedly. They'd both had a long day, and she was quickly growing tired, especially with his arguments.

Oliver fixed a serious stare on her, but she refused to back down, so he finally sighed in a wordless agreement. She took him into her room, trying to ignore the feelings stirring inside her as he carefully took in every aspect that surrounded them.

"Thank you, Felicity. I mean it." He fixed her with a look of total sincerity, which she accepted with a nod and a smile.

"Good night, Oliver."

She went back into her living room and settled herself on the couch under a pile of blankets, working on her tablet for a bit before finally turning the lights out and curling up to sleep.

It was only a few hours later that she was awoken by a loud scream that jolted her off of the couch to the floor.

Hurrying from the living room, she rushed into her bedroom, half expecting to see an assailant attacking Oliver. What she found instead was his agitated body jerking and twisting in his sleep.

She carefully made her way forward to perch on the side of her bed, reaching out hesitantly to place a careful hand on his shoulder.

"Oliver," She called gently. "Oliver, wake up."

He jolted upright so fast that she had to scoot away to stop him from falling into her. His eyes were wild and darting all over the room until they came to settle on her. Recognition dawned on his face, and suddenly he was recoiling from her.

"Are you okay?" She asked softly.

"Yeah," he gasped. "Nightmare. Sorry, I woke you."

"It's okay." She said soothingly, reaching out again to place a comforting hand on his arm. "I just wanted to make sure you were alright."

He nodded, his eyes slipping shut again.

"Okay, good night." She whispered, squeezing his arm before pushing herself up from the bed.

She turned to leave but his hand on her wrist stopped her, pulling her back to him.

"Will you stay? Please?" He asked quietly.

Her heart broke at the anxious look in his eyes, more vulnerable than she'd ever seen him before. Without even thinking, she nodded in response, slipping under the sheets on her usual side to lie beside him.

He rolled onto his side so that he was facing her. He cautiously placed a hand on her waist, letting out a deep breath as he felt her warm skin under his palm.

"You're safe here, Oliver." She whispered. "I promise." She leaned across to kiss his forehead gently, her heart skipping at the relaxed look that covered his face.

He nodded, and tucked his face under her chin, closing his eyes as he practically sank into her. She draped an arm over his waist in response, deciding to just let it all happen and worry about what it all meant in the morning. She knew it could make their relationship even more complicated, but all that mattered was making sure he was okay.

/

 _In your heart_

 _In your head_

 _In your arms_

 _In your bed_

 _Under your skin_

 _Til there's no way to know where you end_

 _And where I begin_

Felicity yawned for what seemed like the hundredth time in the space of twenty minutes. Oliver looked over at his girlfriend with concern, noticing her extremely unusual quiet demeanour. Her lack of chatter meant the foundry was oddly silent, especially since they were still waiting for the other members of the team to arrive.

He watched as she removed her glasses and rubbed her fingertips against her temple, completely ignoring her monitors in front of her.

"Felicity?" He called out gently, walking over to her workstation. "You alright?"

She promptly yawned again before answering. "I'm fine, Oliver."

He came to stand behind her where his hand found its usual place on her shoulder, rubbing circles with his thumb soothingly.

"No you're not, you're exhausted."

She didn't disagree with him that time, but rather let her head fall back onto his chest.

"I guess I'm still getting used to this whole being a CEO thing." She looked up at him with her eyes narrowed in mock frustration. "I think you made it look easier than it is."

"Yeah, because I didn't do anything." He laughed. "You're doing so much more than I ever did, Felicity, and you've only been in charge a few weeks."

"Thanks." She said softly. His support and belief in her really meant the world to her.

He leant down to press a kiss to into her hair.

"You need to take some time for yourself, Felicity. You've been pulling seventeen to eighteen hour days for too many days in a row now. Why don't you take tonight off, go home and get some sleep?"

She shook her head adamantly. "No way. I'm perfectly fine to stay tonight, Oliver. Just because I have my new job doesn't mean I'm going to let my work here slide."

"I know you wouldn't, that's not like you at all. But you have to start taking care of yourself as well." He said concernedly. Since they had returned from Ivy Town she had been racing around non-stop in her heels, going back and forth between Palmer Tech and their night-time activities, only going home to sleep. Even then she would be frantically tapping on her tablet into the early hours of the morning. Oliver had even started confiscating her technology in order to force her to get more sleep. He really was proud of everything she had been doing, but his concern had increased over the last few days, knowing that she couldn't keep going the way she had been.

"I will." She promised. "But not tonight. There's no way I'm going home."

"It's probably going to be a quiet night." He reassured her.

"I don't care. What if something happens? I'd never forgive myself if anything went wrong and I wasn't here to help."

Oliver sighed, knowing she wasn't going to relent.

"Okay. Just take it easy, alright?"

"I promise." She nodded, her ponytail bobbing earnestly behind her. His overprotectiveness could be overbearing at times, but it was quite endearing at the moment.

He kissed the top of her head one more time as Diggle entered the lair.

"Hey guys."

They both returned their friend's greeting. Within half an hour, Thea and Laurel had joined them. It wasn't long before an alert came in.

"Robbery on an armoured truck going down on 56th and Lexington Way." Felicity informed them, leaning over her screen.

Oliver turned to the others. "Suit up."

They all hurried to put their outfits on and grab their weapons.

Oliver hurried towards her before they left, planting a quick kiss on her lips. "See you soon."

"Be safe!" She called after him and her friends as they all left. She had been a little worried on their return to Star City about watching Oliver going back into the field now that their relationship had gone through significant changes, but she thought she had been handling it quite well.

She sat back in her swivel chair, turned her comms on and pulled up the map that showed the way Digg was travelling.

The op was, as Oliver predicted, routine and simple. There had been minimal noise over the comms while they'd been fighting, very little technology to handle, and they'd left the criminals all tied up for Captain Lance, walking away with no injuries.

"Alright, Felicity, we're on our way back." Digg informed her through her earpiece.

She breathed a slight sigh of relief. "Good. I'll see you guys soon."

Hearing that they were safe and returning to lair caused the slight amount of stress that was in her body to evaporate, and the adrenaline that had gotten her through the last hour gave out. A yawn returned and she tugged her jacket tighter around herself, suddenly remembering how late it was. Glancing at the clock, she figured she could close her eyes for ten minutes while she waited for the team to return. Folding her arms across her desk below the keyboard, she rested her head upon them and let her tired eyes fall shut.

That was exactly how Oliver found her twenty minutes later.

Entering the lair, he headed straight for her workstation as he always did. Spotting her hunched over form, his heart quickened for a moment and he fastened his movements to reach her. He let out a breath of relief once it was clear that she was sleeping peacefully, and not unconscious or distraught. A soft smile overtook his face in the way that it did only when he was looking at her. He knelt beside her desk and reached a hand up to gently brush hair away from her face, his smile growing at the small murmur of content that she made.

"Felicity, honey." He said softly, rubbing a thumb against her cheek.

She slowly peeled her eyes open, taking in the sight of him still in his Green Arrow suit, but with his hood down and mask removed. Realisation slowly returned to her features and she suddenly jolted upright.

"Oh my god, I can't believe I feel asleep here! Is everything alright? Are you all-"

He quickly pressed his lips against hers, knowing it was the most effective way to end a rant of hers.

"Everything is fine, we're all back, and you didn't miss anything. Don't worry about it." He reassured her once he pulled away.

She let out a deep breath and nodded. "Okay."

"Now, I'm going to go change quickly, and we can go home, okay?"

She nodded at him slowly, still becoming aware of her surrounding in her exhausted state. He kissed her cheek quickly before heading off to remove his suit, leaving her to dazedly collect her things.

The car ride home turned silent when Felicity fell asleep five minutes into the journey. Once arriving back at the loft, Oliver lifted her from the car, tucking an arm behind her knees and around her back to carry her upstairs.

He carried her through their front door and up the stairs to their bedroom. She startled slightly when he deposited her on the bed. She managed to change into her pyjamas with his assistance before he helped settle her under the covers.

"Go back to sleep, baby." He whispered against her forehead.

"Not without you." Her exhaustion laced voice responded.

He smiled down at her. "I'll just be two minutes, okay?"

She murmured noncommittally, already fading into the pillows.

He headed into the bathroom to change and get ready for bed before returning to his side. He slid beneath the sheets and opened his arms for Felicity, who immediately rolled into his chest, pressing her face into the crook of his neck.

"Love you." She managed to whisper, her body so entwined with his that they might as well have be one person.

He smiled into her hair. "I love you."

 _What a difference a couple of years makes_ , he thought to himself, thinking back to the first time they fell asleep next to each other. His arms tightened around her, thanking the universe that she was his.

He stayed awake a bit longer, listening to the sounds of her even breaths before succumbing to sleep himself. Nightmares no longer haunted him at night.


End file.
